Kerala, August 20: The first commercial flight landed at INS Garuda Kochi Naval Air Station today morning after Kochi Airport got affected due to one of the worst floods in the state. More than 300 people have died and many are still stranded in the flood. Minister Suresh Prabhu congratulated Air Indian team for their first scheduled flight at INS Garuda, (the alternate site for Cochin Airport) from Bangalore with 70+ passengers. Kerala Floods: First Commercial Flight Lands at INS Garuda Kochi Naval Air Station As Kochi Airport Remains Shut; Check Flight Schedule

The water levels have started to reduce at the Cochin International Airport, and flights are getting diverted to Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. Other flights like GoAir, IndiGo, Jet Airways and others are taking part in the rescue operation by operating special flights.

Air India

Jet Airways

Jet Airways is operating special flights between Bengaluru and the Kochi navy airfield. These flights will operate from 21 August. The airline has also deployed additional flights to and from Mumbai, Bengaluru, Dubai and Dammam to Thiruvananthapuram.

GoAir

GoAir is operating special flights from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram from today. Customers booked to/from Kochi will be accommodated on these flights.

IndiGo

SpiceJet

SpiceJet is operating special flights to and from Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Bengaluru and Chennai to multiple destinations and help passengers stranded due to Kerala floods.

The Centre on Sunday said airfares for domestic flights to and from Kerala ranged between Rs 3,395 and Rs 6,999 on shorter routes and Rs 6,017 and Rs 10,000 on longer ones, in the midst of allegations that passengers were being charged exorbitant rates.

The Periyar river had flooded Kochi airport, and therefore it will not be available up to 2 pm on August 26. All the flights will remain suspended until then. The heavy rains have brought the state to a standstill, claiming several lives in the last few days. Kerala Floods Create Havoc: Kochi Airport Closed Till August 26.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2018 01:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).